Kid Presidents: True Tales of Childhood from America's Presidents

Kid Legends

by David Stabler, Doogie Horner (Illustrator)

The kids who grew up to be president were like a lot of other children. Some struggled with schoolwork and got into fights; others pranked their teachers and infuriated their parents. William Howard Taft was forced to take dance lessons. Gerald Ford struggled with dyslexia. Teddy Roosevelt had a bedroom "museum" full of dead animals. "Kid Presidents" features 20 captivating true stories from the childhoods of American presidents, complete with lively text and more than 200 cartoon illustrations. Laugh-out-loud funny and packed with cool facts, it's the perfect read for all young future leaders of the free world.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Middle Grade, Childrens, Presidents, Biography Memoir

206 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2014

Reviews

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader's copy of this book through a giveaway on Goodreads. My eight-year-old daughter loved the book. The illustrations, short biographies and interesting facts made it fun for her and allowed her to skip around. I enjoyed the book as well and learned quite a bit more than I thought I would.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olivia and I read this for our first book club book. She devoured it and thought it was fascinating. I thought it was cute, but some of the stories were very forgettable.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reader's copy of this book through a giveaway on Goodreads.

Just received my copy last night. Fascinating thus far! Read through 60 pages before I knew it and had to finish making dinner. I'm sure the kids will love it, too. Will update once I finish (which will prob be today!)

This is a well-written compilation of fun facts. It's witty and factual at the same time..right up a kid's alley, esp one who loves facts and snippets of qu9iz-type information (Guinness records and the like).

Of note in this book, snippets from report cards, diary quotes, and humorous illustrations (example, p 99 whe the chicken tells boy Hoover, who is stuck in mud, that "It's not that hard to cross, dude.") Also interesting for comparison for kids were their birthdays. Interesting to see how old (and young!) some of our Presidents were when they became POTUS.

I know this is an advanced copy, so I imagine all the errors will get fixed before October's publishing date, but I noted a few as I read through it and annotated them below:

p.35 "a teacher he didn't he didn't like" (repeats he didn't)
p.42 wouldnít (should be wouldn't...Spanish í instead of apostrophe)
p.45 groupís (should be group's...Spanish í instead of apostrophe)
74 worldís (should be world's...Spanish í instead of apostrophe)
75 motherís (should be mother's...Spanish í instead of apostrophe)
80 "Lt. Governor of Virginia leanred of"(should be learned)
81 Virginiaís / Americaís(should be Virginia's / America's...Spanish í instead of apostrophe)
92 "Andrew Jackson harbored grudge against the British" (missing an article)
99 Nobody else in West Branch, Iowa thought Bertie" (need a comma after Iowa)
110 "enough to prompt to write home to his father" (missing pronoun him)
114 "Was he out wrestling a bears?" (agreement-- a bear versus bears?
121 "allowed him to pursue an unusual hobby: Collecting exotic animals" (no need for capital C)
135 "untamed settlement of Little Pigeon Creek, Indiana when Abe was" (need comma after Indiana)
138 "Abe Prepared for the worst" (no need for capital P)
157 "RICHARD NIXON'S RST GRADE TEACHER" "JIMMY CARTER'S RST GRADE TEACHER" [both should be FIRST (I think) GRADE]
164 "They didn't seem him as a bully" (extra m...should be "They didn't see him as a bully"
164 "He cheered on his sisters on at their sporting events (extra on...should be "He cheered on his sisters at their sporting events")
166 "'Very early in life lie acquired a sense of'" (lie should be he or Joe...not sure; it's a quote. If that's the real quote, need a [sic])
171 "Lyndon was asked to his name on the blackboard" (need a verb...probably write)
182 "allowed him to write with his left hand, his speech improve" (should be improved)
198 "William HENRY HARRISON'S" (William needs to be capitalized and italicized to match)
200 "JAMES GARELD" (GARFIELD)

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and appropriately anecdotal

This was one of those collections of information that my reluctant readers would just eat up. It doesn't linger on any one president's story for too long, and it's just enough to constitute a good source of information for kids. I'd happily recommend this book to my students if they were in the market for nonfiction. Both fun and informative.

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.

This book was totally adorable. It had many short chapters/sections with facts that were interesting and engaging. All of the information provided was done in a manner that kids (and adults) will find appealing. I found it very interesting to read about the presidents as kids, especially the ones that were total brats. I loved the (few) pictuers that were in the advance copy, and would love to see the finished version. The pictures are humorous and engaing. I especially loved the adult faces on kids bodies. They made the book so much more engaging.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barack Obama's first job was scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins - and he can't stand ice cream to this day! That was me, too! Although I've made my peace with ice cream, and next time the President is in Baltimore, I'd be happy to take him to the Charmery and see if he doesn't change his mind. I brought this book home today from a Book Buzz event, and my 11-year-old snatched it up right away and had it half read by dinnertime. It's a fun one!

[Charlie P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Kid Presidents: True Tales Of Childhood From America's Presidents" By David Stabler and illustrated by Doogie Horner is a great fun book full of fun little stories about presidents when they were young kids like us. A few things that I personally disliked is when the author puts little on sentence stories that interest me and that I want to learn a little more about. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book and if you are a fan of short stories this is a book for you.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, and funny! Even with my major in American History, I still learned a few things, especially about some of the presidents who weren't exactly "all-stars". I look forward to revisiting this book when it comes out, mainly to see the finished artwork. I will definitely be recommending this to my customers.

Thank you to Quirk Books and Goodreads Giveaway for the ARC!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun nonfiction book about the presidents as kids. There are stories to be inspired by, but also lots of stories of naughtiness and kids being kids. I think this does a great job of humanizing the presidents for kids and showing them that all kids--even ones who grow up to be president--have some things in common.

[Sera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a an advanced readers copy off a contest on Quirk Books twitter contest! 5/5 is honestly earned for this. I believe this book is wonderful for children and adults! I can see myself reading this more than once. :)

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun and quick read about the presidents’ childhood and to learn about their prankster or bullied experiences.

[Leah Angstman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review HERE.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kid Legends Series review…
Kid Legends is a multi-author, multi-illustrator series that is a big hit with students. The text and illustration have a casual style that often includes an undertone of sarcasm. Kid Legends is not as far over the edge or a busy as the “You Wouldn’t Want to be…” series, which I find annoying, but they use a little zest with the subject matter. This upbeat tone, even in the accounting of serious childhood struggles, maintains the positive message that all will come out okay for these kids who grow to be adults that make famous contributions to society. Each title (be it Kid Presidents, Kid Scientists, or Kid Authors) maintains a narrow focus on the childhood of the subjects, avoiding adult lives, and is even a little neglectful of their accomplishments as they sidestep any assessments of their talent, work, life or death. And there is the rub. While the books are fantastic at encouraging kids that the struggles of childhood are common through these enticing biographies, several of the subjects are inappropriate for children to engage with at this stage of their lives. Yet students laugh out loud, want to share tidbits, and thoroughly enjoy these titles. Even better, they are challenged to explore their own passions and interests!


Kid Presidents review coming…

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the True Tales of Childhood series, these are such interesting books. This one covers many of the presidents of the USA & is filled with fascinating stories. There are also many surprising facts of which I was not aware which give a lot of insight into the type of president these men grew up to be--such as Lyndon Johnson's disruptive & attention-getting bad behavior in school & his career as a school teacher himself making him into a president who signed more education bills than any other president. There was also FDR's mother smothering childhood that made him fight for & appreciate independence & freedom to make his own decisions. And the fact that, as a life guard, Ronald Reagan saved 77 people from drowning & added one more to the score when, at a party at his home, he dove in the pool to save a guest's daughter. There are several fact sections that are full of interesting tidbits of information & one section that lists a fascinating fact on every president from George W. to Donald T. I really enjoyed this book & want to read more in this series. It also provided a section with biographies listed on several of the presidents for further reading.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick reading choice for kids who like non-fiction and/or stories about real people, who crave longer books, but maybe don't quite have the stamina for a full novel-length biography. There are chapters on the childhoods of various presidents - Washington, Lyndon Johnson, Obama, Franklin Roosevelt, Lincoln, etc. interspersed with short chapters that give little snippets about various other presidents. The stories are centered on character traits, or challenges the presidents faced as children (Obama's experience as a target of bullies, Eisenhower's learning to conquer his hot temper as a child, FDR's extremely over-protective mother, Reagan's extreme nearsightedness and his career as a lifeguard) - and all feature cartoon like, gently funny illustrations. Kids will appreciate the perspective of looking at the presidents as kids like them, and the humorous anecdotes will humanize our leaders. Probably best for students in grades 4-6.

[Lucy Annis-Bercier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read another book by the same author called kid athletes and it was really fun and I learned a lot of new things. When I found out there was another one called kid presidents I knew I had to read it. This book tells at least one story or fact about each president in a not boring fact kind of way. The illustrations are hilarious and they level out with the paragraphs just write, so there’s not to many words but definitely not to many drawings. I never looked at the presidents the same way again after this. All I could think about was their crazy childhoods. I learned that Abraham Lincoln was actually very poor as a kid, George Washington swam across a ocean on a horse and Teddy Roosevelt had a mini museum with a lot of different exotic things when he was only a kid. I would love to read the other books in this series like, Kid Authors and Kid Artists. I would recommend this book to people who like funny stories and is interested in the United States Presidents.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute. Short entries about some of America's most famous (or infamous, depending on your opinion) presidents. Cartoon illustrations ramp up the kid-friendly factor. Chock-ful of interesting tidbits. Would make for fun, quick items to read aloud during a history or writing session.
Did you know young Warren G. Harding was once hired to shuck corn for 50 cents a day? He so loathed manual labor he quit after a mere ten minutes. Or that Barak Obama has actually held a position other than a community organizer? His first job was scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. Hates ice cream to this day. John Quincy Adams liked to skinny-dip in the Potomac River. Check out Kid Presidents for more fun facts.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty fantastic book about stories of the Presidents as children. I especially loved a third lesson that Dwight Eisenhower learned about controlling his temper from his mother. She told him, as she put medicine on his knuckles from his punching a tree, "He that conquereth his own soul is greater than he who taketh a city." Now, I'm off to find out where that quote comes from. :)
When I'd find something amusing, I'd ask the girls if they remembered the story (they had read it about a year ago). They would ask to hear the story, again, remember, and then laugh. Loved re-sharing this with them.

[Kate Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book with Kiefer this evening--my other two children, older than him, have already read it several times over. And they've also read the two other books in this series: Kid Athletes and Kid Artists. The series is great... In Kid Presidents, each chapter is about a different president--specifically, what he was like as a child. Each story is fairly specific and often just a touch wild or zany or funny. After reading the book, the presidents seem to be pretty normal, imperfect, and approachable, which must be a little (or maybe a lot) comforting to kids.

Note: The book ends with Obama. (Whew!)

[Sean McGurr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my nine-year old daughter's review: This is a fascinating book. The Kid Presidents lived interesting lives. If you want to learn more about the presidents, this is a good book for you. The illustrations are good. The kid presidents sometimes pulled pranks. This is a recent book. It even has stuff about Barack Obama. Did you know that Richard Nixon once did a play but the boots were too small and didn't fit so he had to squeeze into them? His teachers had to push and force the shoes on. My favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt because he was obsessed with seals. It is a good book for third, fourth, and fifth graders.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for fun and for a better understanding, in some cases, of the influences that shaped some of our leaders. It helps, I believe, to learn that Reagan was undiagnosed but legally blind until he was about 13.

Includes annotated bibliography, index, and lots of illustrative pictures.

I learned, btw, that "many scientists believe that writing with the 'wrong' hand flips a switch in the brain that triggers a speech impediment." At least in Gerald Ford's case, the switch flipped the other way when he was allowed to write with his left hand... he lost his stutter.

[Janet]

Some of the stories were interesting. Others were lackluster. In some cases, I was very disappointed in parts of the text, such as one of the “44 Facts about 44 Presidents” was that “Thomas Jefferson’s best friend was a slave named Jupiter.” A slave can’t be his master’s best friend. There must be many other facts that could have been included about Jefferson, especially in a book for children.

[Claire Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book that would be perfect for a upper elementary student that likes learning facts about the president. I’m left trying to figure out a bulletin board with the different things I learned from this book for my classroom.

[Emily Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this with my my kids (4&6) they were able to stay engaged for each chapter. This book focuses on unknown stories from the president’s childhoods that in turn shaped them into the men they were when they entered the presidency. Highly recommend! 👏🏻

[Kailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I read on Libby to see if I liked it enough to get it for my future classroom, and I loved this one. Short, engaging stories with fun illustrations. A great nonfiction book for young readers.

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant fun and great research if I ever get on Pointless!

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating, fast read will take you through the lives of presidents when they were kids. It goes through their friendships, family relations, tough times, and fun times.

[Michelle Hernly · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this book! My son absolutely loved it and wants to read the others in the series.

[Ashima · Rating 5 out of 5]

we learned a lot!

[Evano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool that they show how the future presidents were as kids. I find it funny how some were such bad kids and how some wished to become president. I liked the new information on each president. I wish that they had different stories on each president and not just a few.